Camp Europe

Working at Camp Europe represented a completely new challenge for me, I was seeking for new experiences and I definitely got it here. Long and exhausting journeys became part of my routines, from 7:30 in the morning until mid-night sometimes, it makes you feel useful and it will definitely challenge your strength. After living in four different countries I thought it would be normal for me to be out of the comfort zone, but living in the camp was something completely different, the charge of work, the type of food, being unconnected with the world ( not having internet access), or even not having time to call your family or in some cases not having time for showering, it definitely changed my way of thinking. It was once in a lifetime experience which allow me to learn a lot about myself. The team work and the sense of authority were my biggest challenges. The best part of my days was the time I spend with those amazing kids and the development of projects. This month at Camp Europe challenged myself in all the ways possible, I struggled, I learnt from my mistakes (hope so) and I got to be a better human being.

I arrived in the airport in Hamburg on a hot June day with no expectations and barely a clue about what I had signed myself up for when I accepted the terms and conditions of the job “Teamer (Camp Counselor) at Camp Europe in Walsrode, Deutschland.” After wandering about and feeling a quite lost, I was drawn to a group of mismatched and equally clueless young adults under the golden arches of McDonald’s -- the universal meet-up point in any airport, it seems -- and threw my backpack onto the growing pile of bags, shoes, ukuleles and water bottles. I would be stuck with this group of 150 energetic, scatterbrained, wild-spirited, intelligent, and international dirtbags for the next two weeks, (and some the whole summer) as we completed intense teamer training sessions during the day and intense teamer hang out sessions at night. In those two weeks, I made friends with people from as far away as India, Bolivia, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and as close as Ireland, Germany, and England. To quote my journal from those days back when I was still a recent scholarly graduate, “It was not a clash of cultures but rather a celebration of vibrant diversity.” The days of training were packed. We learned to cook for large groups in the industrial camp kitchen and we ate the meals together in the giant dining tent. We got lifeguard and first aid certified and as an assistant high ropes instructor I was shown the ins and outs of the camp’s zip line, giant swing, climbing tree and giant ladder. That week we learned how to handle group dynamics, bullying, homesickness, and liability, we were shown how to lead team building and camp games and how to pick kids up from airports and train stations nearby (who cares if you don’t speak the language or know the area!). We all slept in canvas platform tents and took “power showers” together in the group showers (if there was time). At night, we went swimming in the lake and then warmed up with free “teamer Milch” (beer) and a campfire in the camp Yurta or out under the stars. Then camp actually started and we learned a new meaning for the words busy and tired… A typical day at camp: 7:30 – Roll out of bed and into your shoes if you are leading a morning sport (please no Polar Bear Club!) for youngsters who cannot sleep when the sun is up (yes, it starts to get light before 5 am in the summer and kids will wander about, play basketball loudly, or get into other shenanigans). 8:00 – Scramble to wake up your tent group (a group of 5-9 kids you are completely in charge of all week) if you overslept or were leading a morning sport or wanted to take a shower or you simply forgot to wake them up earlier. 8:00 – Breakfast. Run across camp, urging your groggy kids to go faster as you hear the “Camp Song” playing and try not to be late so that there will still be spoons left for cereal. 9:00 – Sigh with relief as morning activities start and you can say goodbye to your tent group for a bit. And then accept the wave of new kids who you are in charge of for the next activity. 9:00 – 12:00 – Lead kids through knot tying, belaying techniques or how to wear a harness and then act calm and try to keep them from hurting themselves as they take their lives in their little hands and belay each other up and down the courses. Whew! 12:30 pm – Lunch. Hope that the whole tent group shows up to the “Camp Song” and that you don’t have to run around camp looking for them or wait with a whining, hungry group of youngsters until the group is complete. (Push-ups may be involved for late comers.) 1:30 pm – Pray that your group does not have duties and can have siesta time instead (at least then there is no proof that you have absolutely no control over your kids). If you do have duties (please not the washrooms or kitchen clean up!) then put on a fake smile and pull energy from deep within your being (you learn to do this very often) and plan on doing about 75% of the work yourself. If you don’t have duties, prepare some incredible argument to convince your kids to shower or clean their tent (or at least stay in the tent)…if they don’t understand English then throw all shame to the wind and use the ten German words you know as creatively as possible to get your point across. Afternoon – Hope that you signed up to lead a fun afternoon activity that you actually know a bit about…Maybe it is water sports (no, that does not mean simply swimming in the lake, you must plan structured activities and challenges), maybe climbing again (no, we are not doing the zip line today), or maybe bushcraft (what the heck is that and why did I decide to lead it?). 6:00 – Dinner. Again, hope that your kids are hungry enough to show up on time and prepare to be bombarded by them afterward for phone time. Try to remember to drink a coffee or two because the day is only about halfway over. After Dinner – While the kids are somewhat absorbed in their phones for a few minutes, run around camp and try to figure out what the evening activity is and if everything is ready for it. Maybe you will have 3 minutes to come up with a costume out of tin foil for a Greek themed Olympiada or maybe you will have to come up with a playlist for a two hour disco (without internet or a working computer, of course), or maybe you will have to mentally prepare yourself to be tortured to beauty by your tent group for “Pimp Your Teamer” night. Either way, your body is screaming to sit down and take a break, but you know that word doesn’t exist at camp. Evening Activity – See above, just add the chaos that comes with trying to organize 100-200 kids into any kind of slightly efficient configuration where at least some of them have fun and most of them come out alive. 9:30-11:30 pm (depending on the age of your tent group) – Try to get your completely hyped tent group to brush their teeth, use the bathroom, change into pajamas, and get into bed in less than an ungodly amount of time. Then read to them, light a candle or do anything in your power to get them to fall asleep quickly. 11:00 pm (but honestly probably midnight or later) – Teamer meeting. Yeah, you thought the day was over, didn’t you? No. It is not. Scramble over to the Yurt, or the headquarters building, or wherever the teamer meeting is (or just run around the camp until you find the meeting because it always changes location without warning). Settle down with your equally exhausted colleagues and talk about the day, plan the next one (yes, you MUST sign up to lead activities!), and share some of the “bloody brilliant” things people did that day. 1:00 am – Hope to life that you are not “Night Cat” (required to stay up from 1 am to 5 am) so you can crack open a teamer Milch with the others. This is the first time all day that you actually feel awake….therefore, you stay up with your friends, you say yes to another Milch, you eat way too many Doppelkeks, you share stories that may or may not be true, you play “Never Have I Ever” and reveal way more about yourself than you ever have to anyone you have known for only a few weeks, you try to sneak pretzels into peoples’ drinks, you try to roast cookies on the fire and to ninja steal other peoples’ roasting cookies, you drink, you complain, you laugh, and you are exhaustedly happy….and then you look at your watch and you suddenly realize that morning sports start in four hours…

I was looking for a camp to work at this past summer: I like working with children and being outdoors, plus was looking for a way to make a summer of traveling a bit cheaper. I had never experienced this type of situation before, and was expecting a challenging, interesting, fun experience. Camp Europe was all of this and more. I don't have any experience to compare this against, but here are my impressions: The training was helpful and thorough. The staff and support are top notch. The camp site where I was assigned was cozy and comfortable enough. The kids were from various parts of Europe, North America, and Asia and were a ton of fun and well-behaved for the most part. The days were long and challenging, but tons of fun and always passed quickly. The food was unexciting but adequate. My fellow staff at the camp was mostly bright, caring, thoughtful, high-energy, impressive, young individuals. Overall, my experience was very positive. I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of my first camp experience of any type, but knew it would be challenging and mind-expanding. One of the themes of the camp was challenging the children to push their limits. I definitely pushed mine and was able to do more than I thought I was capable of. It was an unforgettable summer in Bavaria filled with adventure and wonderful people of all ages.